Fresno County, CA History
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta
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SOURCE: Memorial and Biographical History of the counties of Fresno, Tulare and
Kern, California - Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1892
HISTORY OF
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
DISCOVERY
The discovery of California was directly the result of a belief
entertained in the early part of the sixteenth century that there was a direct
passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Seas. This highway was sought
for by various navigators of that time, and when Hernando Cortez landed in Vera
Cruz in April, 1519, he was confident that he had reached Asia. It was his
intention to settle the shadow of doubt by following the coast around to India,
and this resolution in succeeding years resulted in the discovery of California.
Cortez founded the town of Zacatula, 180 miles north of Acapulco, Mexico,
where he built a fleet and a few years later, in 1532, sent out the ships in
search of lands then unknown to previous travelers. The voyage was a disastrous
one, and in 1533 he sent out two ships in search of the missing vessels. these
ships were under the command of Hernando Grijalva and Diego Becerra de Mendoza,
the latter a cousin of Cortez. Grijalva soon abandoned the search in despair
and returned to Zacatula; Mendoza was murdered by the crew of his ship, headed
by one Fortuno Jimenez, a pilot; and the mutineers followed the coast northward
until a beautiful bay, since called La Paz, was reached. This bay is on the
western side of the gulf of California, 100 miles north of Cape St. Lucas.
Jimenez and nearly all of his crew were here murdered by Indians, and the leader
of the mutineers was not aware, at the time of his tragic death, that he
possessed the proud distinction and would be credited in history as the
discoverer of California.
Cortez landed at Santa Cruz, then known as Jimenez Bay, May 3, 1535, but
owing to the hostility of the Indians he was compelled a year later to abandon
his possessions. In 1539, he sent Captain Francisco de Ulloa to the gulf, which
he explored nearly to the mouth of the Colorado, and then, rounding the point,
sailed up the outer coast to Cedros Islands.
THE NAME "CALIFORNIA"
It was Ulloa who on this voyage applied the name of California to the
peninsula, the source of the christening being an old romance by Ordonez de
Montalvo, a great favorite among the Spanish, from 1510 to 1526, in which he
describes an "island of California on the right hand of the Indias very near the
Terrestrial Paradise," peopled with Black women, griffins and other creatures of
the author's imagination. While there is no historical proof of the application
of this name, the coincidence is so striking that authorities generally agree
that the title "California" was derived from this source.
FURTHER DISCOVERIES
The honor of first sighting New, or Upper, California was reserved to Juan
Rodriguez Cabrillo, one of the pilots of Cortez, who in1542, under instructions
from the viceroy of Spain, Antonio de Mendoza, sailed from the port of Navidad
in Mexico, on an expedition of discovery of the coast toward the north. He
anchored in San Diego bay, to which he gave the name of San Miguel, and in
October, 1542, visited the Santa Catalina Island. After touching at the Indian
town of Xuca, in the vicinity of what is now known as San Buenaventura, Cabrillo
made his way northward until he reached Monterey bay, where the brave navigator
a short time after died.
He was succeeded by Bartolome Ferrello, a Levantine pilot, who continued
northward until he arrived at the region between Humboldt and Trinidad bays,
after which he turned south again. No further efforts were made to discover the
mysteries of the upper coast for thirty-five years following.
In 1577, Captain Drake, the famous navigator, started on his great
buccaneering expedition along the Spanish coast, and in 1579 he determined to
make for England by way of the Cape of Good Hope. Contrary winds drove his ship
northward, but finding himself in the arctic latitudes he headed south again
until he reached the latitude of thirty-eight degrees, where he discovered a
country which from its white cliffs he called New Albion. Here he found a bay
in which he anchored, and formally took possession of the country in the name of
Queen Elizabeth. Some diversity of opinion exists as to the identity of Drake's
anchorage, some assuming that he reefed sails in Bodega bay, others that he
stopped in the waters now bearing his name , and others still that he had
reached the bay of San Francisco. The general inference, however, is, that
Drake anchored in the bay that now bears his name and did not discover San
Francisco. Several years later, voyages were made by Francisco Gali, Carmenon
and Sebastian Viscaino.
Neither of these voyagers accomplished much more than there predecessors,
and between the years 1615 and 1668, eight separate and fruitless efforts to
make further discoveries were advanced. The glaring accounts of these explorers
excited the public mind for many years. There were visions of a magnificent
country, golden sands and pearls of great price, but gradually the adventurous
spirits of the conquering Spaniards waned, and for more than 100 years there is
a blank in the annals of California.
CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES
Resuming the second historic period of California, we find the Jesuit
regime inaugerated by the Spanish Court at Madrid, in 1677, when it was decided
that the survey, conquest, and settlement of the new country should be
undertaken on a new basis. The instructions were accordingly sent to Enrique de
Rivera, then Viceroy of New Spain, as well as Archbishop of Mexico, and the
prosecution of the enterprise was entrusted to Admiral Don Isidro Otondo. The
plan was, that the undertaking should be conducted at the expense of the crown,
which was to supply Otondo with a body of priests and a sufficient number of
soldiers to protect the missionaries. The spiritual government of the
expedition was conferred on the jesuits, then the most powerful priestly
organization in Mexico, with Father Eusebio Francisco Kuhn - a German by birth
and called by the Spaniards Kino - at their head. The party left Chacala in
May, 1683, and sailed up the gulf, landing at various Indian towns on the
peninsula and preaching their gospel to the (so called) heathens. In later
years Kuhn associated himself with Fathers Salvatierra Picola and Ugarte, and
these pioneers of Christianity and civilization, filled with a pious zeal which
urged them on against every obstacle, - the unwillingness of their own society,
the indifference and backwardness of the court, the delay of officials, and
their own limited finances as well as the small number of their coadjutors, -
pursued their labors to a glorious end. In 1691, Kuhn and Salvatierra reached
the modern Arizona line, and afterward explored the country as far as the Gila
river.
Later on the Jesuits began to lose their influence, a feeling of enmity
grew up against them, and they became involved in vexatious controversies;
settlers and miners began to advocate secularization; hatred to the priests was
fomented, and in 1766 Charles III summarily put an end to all the strife by an
ordinance for the instant and general expulsion off the Jesuits from all the
Spanish dominions. Early in 1768, the decree went into effect, and California
was again left to the savage tribes which had peopled it from remote ages.
We find the next historic period of civilized invasion of California was
by the Franciscan friars following the expulsion of the Jesuits. Their
instructions were to take possession of the missions in peninsular California,
and also to establish new missions which should protect the country further
north against seizure by the English or French. The convent of San Fernando,
the principal establishment of the Franciscan monks in New Spain, was given
charge of the work, and the head of the convent selected Junipero Serra as the
head of the proposed establishments.
In 1768, Serra, with fifteen friars, arrived in Lower California, and San
Diego - the San Miguel of Cabrillo - having been decided on as the objective
point, two expeditions by land and two by sea were started for that place.
Experiencing many hardships, privations and diseases, the expeditions arrived at
their destination, and on July 11, 1769, the mission of the San Diego was
founded. Three days later Captain Portola, who afterward became first governor
of the territory, set out in company with friars Crespi and Gomez, with
forty-five other whites and a few Indians, with a view of occupying Monterey.
The object of this expedition was not accomplished, but resulted in the
discovery of San Francisco bay; and January 24,1770, a second attempt to find
Monterey was made. June 23 the mission of San Carlos and the presidio, or fort,
of Monterey was founded, and a formal declaration of the possessions of the
country in the name of the King of Spain was made.
The foregoing events were the subject for hearty congratulations and
prayers in Mexico, and immediate and liberal provision was made for the
establishment of other missions.
The mission of San Antonio was founded at the foot of the Santa Lucia
Mountains July 14, 1771; that of San Gabriel, on the river of the same name, in
August, 1771, and that of San Louis Obispo in September, 1772. Four years
later, in 1776, the missions of San Juan Capistrano and San Francisco were
founded. Subsequently the following missions were founded: Santa Clara, 1777;
San Buenaventura, 1782; Santa Barbara, 1786; Concepcion, 1782; Soledad, 1791;
Santa Cruz, 1794; San Fernando, 1797; San Miguel, 1797; San Juan, 1797, San Jose
in this same year, and San Luis Rey, in 1798; those of Solano, San Rafael, and
Santa Ynez being built in the present century.
CALIFORNIA DIVIDED
The division of California into two district provinces was projected in
1796, but it was not effected until 1804, when a royal order from Spain, in
which the official names of the new provinces were fixed as Antiqua and Nueva
California, was received. The fixing of the boundaries of the two provinces was
left to the Franciscans, and Arrillaga was made political and military governor
of Nueva California, at a salary of $4,000 a year. The first years of his term
were devoted to interior explorations, during which time the river San Joaquin
was named, and the Tulare, Mariposa, King's, Merced and Tuolumne rivers were
visited.
THE PERIOD 1811-23
The period 1811-23 was characterized by a period of strife growing out of
a revolution by which the colonies sought to throw off the Spanish yoke. On
July 24, 1814, Colonel Don Jose Joaquin de Arrillaga died at Soledad mission, at
the age of sixty-four years. He was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Pablo
Vicente de Sola. It was during his term that the first invasion of a foreign
foe, led by Captain Hippolyte Bouchard, commonly known as the "pirate Bouchard",
occurred.
Sola made great preparations to receive the unpleasant visitor, and on
November 20, 1818, a sentinel on Point Pinos, reported that Bouchard's vessels
were approaching Monterey. A few hours later two large vessels anchored in the
bay and began firing upon Sola's forces, which lined the shore. Nine boats,
containing 400 of the invaders, succeeded in landing. Sola, seeing the
hopelessness of resistance, spiked his guns, burned his powder, and retreated to
the Rancho del Rey, fifteen miles distant, where Salinas City now stands. The
invaders killed all the cattle they could find, looted the stores, burned the
guns and set the fort and presidio on fire.
Leaving Monterey, Bouchard sailed down to the Santa Barbara channel, where
he plundered the buildings of the Refugio ranch, killed the cattle and carried
away some prisoners. On the 6th of December he stopped at Santa Barbara
briefly, exchanged some prisoners, and sailed away - out of the history of
California.
February, 1821, Iturbide proclaimed the independence of Mexico. This
valiant royalist became regent of Mexico in September of that year. This
information reaching Sola, he immediately called the commandants of the four
presidios to a junta, or council, at Monterey, together with Father Payras as
representative of the missions and neophytes. The junta met on the 9th of
April, and it was resolved to acquiesce in the regency, to obey the new
government, to recognize the dependence of California on the Mexican empire
only, and to take the prescribed oath.
Iturbide followed up his past success by proclaiming himself Emperor of
Mexico and California under the title of Augusta I., and sent a commissioner to
California to learn the feelings of the people, to obtain an oath of allegiance,
to raise the new national flag, and in general to superintend public affairs.
This commissioner was Fernandez de San Vicente, a canon of the Durango
Cathedral. He went to Monterey on September 26th, and there obtained the oath
of allegiance, and on November 9, 1822, organized the first legislature of
California, presided over by Governor Sola, and of which Francisco de Haro was
secretary. Sola was chosen as deputy to the Mexican Congress, and Captain Luis
Arguello was elected to the office of acting Governor. Two days after Sola's
departure for Mexico, Arguello assumed the cares of government, November 20, at
Monterey.
The Iturbidian dynasty came to an inglorious end in March, 1823, when he
was forced to abdicate and be banished from the country. One of his last
official acts was to appoint a governor to succeed Sola, choosing for the
position Captain Bonifacio de Tosta. He held the office but a short time, and
the only official act he performed was the collection of money at Gaudalajara,
on salary account.
Then came the death of Iturbide, July 19, 1824, and the formation of the
Mexican Republic, the constitution of which formed New Spain, Yucatan, the
Internal Provinces of the East and West and the Californias, into a federation
of nineteen States and four territories. The executive power was vested in a
president and vice-president, and the legislative in a senate and chamber of
deputies. The States were recognized as free, independent and sovereign, and
the territories, of which Alta California was one Baja California was another,
were to be administered by a governor appointed by the president and a
legislature to be elected by the people.
From this time forward California was no longer a royal or imperial
province, but a republican territory.
THE PERIOD BETWEEN 1823 AND 1836
The period between 1823 and 1836 was noted for many changes, unrest,
disaffection and revolts in the territory of the young republic.
In 1825, Victoria, then president of the Mexican Republic, decided not to
confirm Arguello in office, and in February, 1825, appointed Lieutenant Colonel
Jose Maria de Echeandia, Governor of both Californias. He met Arguello at San
Diego, October 31, 1825, and received the government at his hands. Arguello
resumed his former office of Commandante of San Francisco, from which office he
was removed in 1829, owing to his dissipated habits. He died March 27, 1830, at
the age of forty-six.
THE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION
The first Americans reached California overland during Echeandia's
administration, in 1828. These were a small company of hunters and trappers
commanded by Captain Jedediah S. Smith. The party were treated with signal
cruelty by Echeandia and forced to leave the country. Following this event came
the insurrection headed by Herrera and Solis, two appointees of the government,
on the night of November 12, 1829. The insurgent's were arrested and sent to
Mexico, where in a short time they were liberated.
Next came a revolt of the San Jose and Santa Clara Indians; the rise of
Santa Ana in Mexico; the successive appointments as Governors of Manuel
Victoria, Jose Figueroa (who founded the village of Yerba Buena), Colonel
Gutierrez and Colonel, Mariano Chico.
Just prior to the American conquest of California came, on November 6,
1836, the revolution of Alvarado, which ended in placing him in the Governor's
seat, and also placed his uncle, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, in military command
of the State.
The state was then divided into two cantons and an independent system of
government was adopted.
The steady flow of Americans into California caused the Mexican government
some anxiety, and in 1840 Alvarado was instructed to take a census, - the first
ever taken within the boundaries of the State.
This census developed 148 foreigners scattered about over the various
missions, not including hundreds of others who had settled without permission.
In his report Alvarado stated that the condition of California was helpless, and
that Americans were literally pouring into the country. No sooner did Santa
Ana, who was once more in power, hear of this, then he appointed a new governor
in the person of a brigadier general of the Mexican army, by the name of Jose
Manuel Michektorena, who assumed office at Los Angeles, December 3, 1842.
A few weeks prior to this event Commodore Jones, in command of the
American squadron then stationed at Callao, receiving erroneous information that
war had been declared between the United States and Mexico, repaired to Monterey
in the frigate United States, and took possession of the town in the name of the
American Republic, October 19, 1842. Subsequently ascertaining that there was
no war between the two governments, he drew down the American flag with many
apologies, and went on board his vessel with his marines.
The incident so exasperated the Mexican authorities that in 1843 an order
for the complete expulsion of Americans from California was issued. This
resulted in the formation of two factions, - Governor Micheltorena and J. A.
Sutter, of Sacramento, on the one side, and Alvarado, Pico and Castro on the
other. Each party gathered around them their coherents, and the opposing forces
met on the plains of Cahuenga, near San Fernando, February 15, 1845. Scarcely
had the battle begun when it was ended, by Micheltorena's capitulation, and
Pico, the last of the Mexican governors, was once more placed at the head of
affairs in California, February 22, 1845.
The same year, in the month of May, a United States expedition of a
scientific character for the Pacific coast was organized, and John Charles
Fremont, an officer of the United States Topographical Engineers, placed at its
head. This expedition, which numbered sixty-two men, reached California in
January, 1846.
Fremont met Castro at Monterey and explained to him the object of his
expedition, to which Castro did not apparently object. In March, however,
Castro wrote Fremont that he would have to leave the country; but instead of
doing so Fremont moved to a commanding ridge of the Gabilan mountains, back of
San Juan Capistrano, where he threw up works for defense and defiantly waved the
stars and stripes over his fortifications. Castro gathered his men, numbering
200, and prepared to assail Fremont's position. The latter withdrew, however,
and marched off toward Sonoma. Castro did not attempt pursuit, but issued his
proclamation of March 13, in which he declared Fremont and party a band of
highwaymen.
The first event of importance to the Americans in California was the
capture, on June 14, 1846, of the military post of Sonoma, commanded by M. G.
Vallejo. Fremont had just been informed of hostilities between Mexico and the
United States, and of the determination of the United States authorities to
capture and hold California. After several consultations with Fremont, William
B. Ide and Ezekial Merritt, two American settlers, with a number of men
captured the post without a struggle, with eighteen prisoners, nine brass
cannon, 250 muskets, and public property valued at $1,200. Two days later, a
piece of coarse white cotton cloth, about two yards long, and a yard wide, was
procured, and along the lower edge of it was sewed a narrow strip of red woolen
stuff, cut from a worn-out undershirt of one of the men. On this was painted a
single star, and also a figure of a grizzly bear. Beneath the whole was painted
the inscription "California Republic." As soon as it was completed it was run
up, amid the shouts of the Americans assembled, in place of the Mexican colors.
This event took place June 14, 1846, and such were the origin , composition and
raising of the "Bear Flag" of California.
THE MEXICAN WAR
May 13, 1846, the United States Government declared war with Mexico.
About this time Fremont had joined forces with the Bear Flag men, and was
arrayed before the forces of Castro, near San Rafael, where a conflict ensued,
and a number of Americans were killed. Commodore John D. Sloat, on board the
United States ship Savannah, then lying at Mazatlan, was instructed to seize
what ports of Alta California he could, and he at once set out upon his mission.
He arrived at Monterey July 2, 1846, and on the 7th he demanded the surrender
of that place. There was no opposition, the Mexican colors were hauled down
from the customhouse, and the American flag hoisted in their place. From that
moment the Mexican Government in California ceased and the sovereignty of the
country passed to the United States. Four days later the American flag waved
triumphantly at San Francisco, and throughout the country north of the bay, and
it was everywhere hailed with unfeigned satisfaction.
The incidents that transpired in California during the war between Mexico
and the United States are so familiar to the reader that it is not necessary to
recount them here. The acts of Kearny, Johnston, Stockton, and Fremont during
this campaign were with a few unimportant exceptions characterized by good
judgment, valor, and patriotism; and on May 31, 1847, Colonel Richard B. Mason
assumed the functions of Governor of California.
THE AMERICAN PERIOD
The old missions had been "secularized," and the only question was as to
the power if the new administration to make new land grants, the missions having
been previously disposed of by the Mexican government. Mason not only refrained
from making any grants, but insisted that titles and possessory rights should
remain as far as practicable as they were on July 7, 1847. In the meantime the
country was rapidly filling up with emigrants who crossed the continent with
teams, surrounded by constant dangers, particularly in crossing the Sierra
mountains during the winter months.
THE DONNER PARTY
The most tragic affair in the history of immigration to this State was the
sad experience of a company of immigrants from Illinois called the Donner party,
numbering eighty persons. They reached the eastern slope of the Sierras
October 31, 1846, and, owing to lack of provisions, were compelled to push
forward regardless of the falling snow which threatened to bury them. Finally
finding themselves snowbound, and hemmed in on every side, they built cabins to
pass the winter there. In a few weeks starvation stared them in the face, and a
party of fifteen was organized to make their way to Sutter's fort for
assistance. Only one of the miserable party survived to reach William Johnson's
ranch on Bear river, and he carried the sad news to Sutter's fort and San
Francisco. Relief parties were immediately organized and started to the rescue
of the sufferers. The first party of rescue arrived at the camp neat Donner
lake, February 19, 1847. Of the eighty persons who composed the party,
thirty-six had perished from cold and hunger, Donner and his wife among the
number. The latter it is said, was murdered by a man of the party named
Keseberg, for the valuables she possessed. The sufferers, in order to preserve
life, fed upon the corpses of their late companions, several went insane, and
others subsequently died from the hardships they had endured. Details of the
sufferings of this unfortunate party are heart-rending.
GOVERNMENTAL
The regulation of the authority and jurisdiction of the American alcaldes,
or mayors, was one of Governor Mason's principal duties. The powers exercised
by them included the right to sell lots within the limit of their town, and they
were also criminal judges up to the point of inflicting the death punishment.
The growth of American law during this transitory period was very slow, but
gradually the common law principles and forms were either amalgamated with or
supplemented the old customs and procedures.
The first jury in the country was summoned by Walter Cotton, the American
alcalde, or mayor, of Monterey, in July, 1847, and on December 29 of that year
Governor Mason made the great move, ordering all civil cases involving a sum
exceeding $100, and all criminal cases of a grave nature, to be tried before a
jury. After the peace, crimes were of frequent occurrence, and gradually lynch
law became a power in the land. Mason refused to interfere with a course of
popular vengeance that alone held lawlessness to some degree in check, and, it
being distasteful to him, he demanded to be recalled. In October, 1848,
Brigadier General Bennett Riley was directed to relieve Colonel Mason as
Governor of California, and the following November, Brigadier General Persifer
F. Smith was appointed to the command of the United States Army on the Pacific
coast. Governor Riley entered upon the discharge of his duties April 12, 1849.
THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD
The discovery of gold early in 1848, and the confirmation of the repeated
reports of the uncounted mineral wealth of the country, attracted the attention
of the civilized world to California, and an immigration unprecedented in
history was the result. The discovery was contemporaneous with the treaty of
peace with Mexico, known as the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and with the
transfer of California from Mexico to the United States. The spot where gold
was first found was at a place since called Coloma, on a branch of the American
River, and its discoverer was James Wilson Marshall, a native of hope Township,
Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Marshall had entered into a partnership with J.
A. Sutter on August 19, 1847, for the purpose of erecting a sawmill, and several
months were consumed in securing a suitable mill site. This having been found,
as already stated, at Coloma, Marshall engaged several hands and began
constructing a mill-race. On the morning of January 19, 1848, while examining
the tail-race, Marshall caught the glitter of something that lay lodged in a
crevice some inches under water. he picked up the substance, found that it was
heavy and of a peculiar color. He knew that he held in his hand some sort of
metal, but whether mica, sulphuret of copper or gold he could not determine. He
remembered that gold was malleable, and as this thought passed through his mind,
he placed a specimen upon a stone and tested it by striking it with another.
The substance did not crack or flake off; it simply bent under the blows. He
felt confident that he had discovered gold, and a few days later, having in the
meantime discovered other pieces of the same metal, he took them to Sutter's
Fort, where all doubt as to its being gold was set at rest, after it had been
weighed and tested with nitric acid.
The news of the discovery spread like fire among the dry glass on a windy
day, and in an incredibly short period of time the mountains were filled with
gold-seekers who had deserted the towns. The excitement spread to the Eastern
States, and ere long the great rush to California took place. At the end of
1849 the American population numbered nearly 100,000 persons. It was these
people, brought together from the several States and localities in the Union,
that amalgamated and combined to lay the foundations of the wonderful State of
California, pre-eminently in fact as well as in name, the "Golden State" of our
American Union.
The first recognition of California by the United States Government was in
March, 1849, when an appropriation bill was passed by Congress, which extended
the revenue laws of the United States over the entire territory. San Francisco
was made a port of entry, and Monterey, San Diego and Fort Yuma ports of
delivery; a collector of customs was authorized and a complete revenue system
adopted.
But soon the subject of a
STATE GOVERNMENT
for themselves was agitated by the people. This resulted in the convening of a
convention at Monterey, September 1, 1849, at which a constitution was adopted.
The State seal was presented in the name of Caleb Lyons, and also adopted,
despite the objections of Vallejo, who had some enmity for the bear which forms
its chief figure. The constitution was sent to Governor Riley, and he issued an
order for a general election to be held November 13. The successful candidates
were: Peter H. Burnett, Governor; John McDougal, Lieutenant Governor; and
Edward Gilbert, and George W. Wright, Representatives in Congress.
At the same time there were elected in the various districts sixteen
Senators and thirty-six Assemblymen, to constitute the first State Legislature.
That body met at San Jose, Saturday, December 15, 1849, and adjourned April 22,
1850, after holding some very stormy sessions. Fremont and Gwin were elected to
the United States Senate.
Meanwhile the question of admitting California into the Union was
exciting warm debates in Congress, though President Polk had assumed a favorable
attitude in the matter. The California representatives, upon their arrival at
Washington, presented a copy of the constitution to President Taylor, February
13, 1850, and by special message he announced the formal application of the new
State for admission. The measure was strongly opposed by Henry Clay, of
Kentucky, and John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, and as warmly advocated by
Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, William H. Seward, of New York, and several
others. A number of compromise measures were submitted and debated, but on
September 7, despite the almost general opposition of the Southern Senators, the
bill admitting California as a State was passed by a vote of 150 to 56. Two
days later, on September 9, the bill was signed by President Fillmore (President
Taylor having died July 9), and California became the "Golden State" of the
Union. Its representatives at once took their seats in Congress, and when the
glorious news reached the people of California celebrations of the event took
place with great enthusiasm in all the towns within the boundaries of the new
State. No State had before entered the Union with such an extraordinarily rapid
and triumphant career. With the passing of the golden era, the admission of the
State into the Union, and the purging of society by the heroic treatment of the
vigilantes, the history of California loses its romantic features and glides
quietly into the plain record of passing events.
In the first decade appeared the clipper ships in response to the demands
for quick transportation of freights, the introduction of the "Pony Express"
across the continent in 1859; the opening of the Panama railroad for business
on January 23, 1855, the Fraser river gold excitement of 1858, and the
organization of the Steam Navigation Company in March, 1854, for traffic on the
interior waters of the State. The output of mineral in these ten years was
phenomenal, the figures reaching $553,000,000. The agricultural resources of
the State were also largely developed, and many manufacturing industries were
established.
On February 25, 1854, the Legislature was removed to Sacramento, which
became the State capital. In the second decade, 1860-'70, the following were
the principal events: Steamer communication with the Hawaiian Islands
established in 1861; a line of steamers started to China in 1867; first steamer
communication with Australia in 1869; disastrous floods in the Sacramento and
San Joaquin Valleys in the winter of 1861-'62; completion of the overland
telegraph from Western Missouri to San Francisco, October 22, 1861, and the
opening of the Central Pacific Railroad in May, 1869.
PRESENT STATUS
It was also in this decade that the viticultural interests of the State
began to be developed, and California was rapidly pushing her way into the front
rank of the cereal and fruit producers. Exports grew to the enormous figures of
18, 000,000 centals of wheat for the decade, to nearly 2,500, 000 barrels of
flour, to over 1,000,000 centals of barley and to 70,000,000 pounds of wool. In
1850 the population of the State was 92,597; in 1860 it was 379,994; in 1870 it
had increased to 560,257, in 1880 to 864,694, and in 1890 the population is
1,204,002.
So far as the State is concerned, California is again, the great
attractive region of the world. The days of the "Argonauts" are over, but the
enormous agricultural, horticultural, and viticultural interests, the
extraordinary growth of her population; the wonderful impetus that is being
given to enterprise in general; the appreciation of real estate and the
marvelous new life that has struck the Southern San Joaquin Valley, as also the
southern counties of the State; her climate, scenery, opportunities for solid
investment and profitable returns; her standard of culture and educational
advantages - all of these have again crowned California anew as the great Golden
State.
TOPOGRAPHY
The topography of California is of the most varied description imaginable
and comprises what may without exaggeration be called an unequal aggregation of
vast mountain ranges, lofty glacier-clad peaks, extensive valleys, boisterous
mountain torrents, and smoothly flowing rivers, land-locked bays, peaceful
lakes, the most tremendous forest growth ever seen, and a coast line without a
superior. For 800 miles from north to south along the Pacific Ocean sweeps this
great commonwealth, while it is almost 200 miles from the sands of the seashore
to the foot of the eastern slope of the Sierra, which marks the limit of the
state in that direction. The sinusosities of the coast are such that California
has nearly 1,100 miles of shore line, while the vast territory of more than
100,000,000 acres is compromised within its boundaries. Such an extent is so
immense that some means of comparison must be furnished in order to secure an
adequate conception thereof.
If California were on the Atlantic coast it would extend from the
latitude of Cape Cod down the coast to Charleston, South Carolina, thus covering
the shore line of the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New
York, New jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolinas.
Inland it would reach across New Jersey and about half way across Pennsylvania.
With her 155,000 square miles of area, in which can be found every physical
characteristic and variety of climate, California is an empire within itself,
and in every respect may well challenge comparison with any equal area in the
world.
Two great mountain ranges traverse the State throughout its entire length.
On the east is the Sierra Nevada with the loftiest summits existent in the
United States. On the west is the Coast Range, divided into many spurs, with
extensive intervening valleys, and with a general altitude far less than the
Sierras. In the northern part of the State there are two mountain ranges
verging toward each other until merged into one, and the same thing is repeated
in the south. The Coast Range is divided into numerous spurs under other names.
Thus the range that practically divides the fertile valleys of the south from
the Mojave desert is called variously the Sierra Madre and the San Bernardino
mountains, and has almost a due east and west course, finally trending off
southeasterly across the Colorado desert. On the north of the Mojave desert is
the Tehachapi range, which with the San Emigdio (by some writers spelled Emidio)
mountains form the connecting link between the Sierra and the Coast Range.
Through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties runs the Santa Ynez spur, which is
divided again into the Santa Lucia and Mount Diablo ranges in San Luis Obispo
County. The first named keeps well toward the ocean and finally ceases when the
bay of Monterey is reached. the other continues up the east side of the Carisa
plain, east of the Santa Clara valley, and so on northward, fixing the western
limit of the San Joaquin valley, until it terminates in the peak from which the
name is derived, near San Francisco bay. A spur from the Diablo range is the
Gabilan, which forms the western boundary of the Santa Clara valley, and finally
merges into the Santa Cruz mountains, which continue northward until they
gradually slope into the low hills upon which San Francisco is situated.
Northward of the bay of San Francisco the Coast Range is found more in a body
and the valleys are few and limited.
Beyond the Coast Range and between it and the Sierra lies the great
interior valley, for it is practically one throughout its entire vast length
from Shasta on the north to Tehachapi on the south. The northern portion is
drained by the Sacramento river, and its tributaries, flowing southward for 200
miles to the bay of San Francisco, while the southern portion is the watershed
of the San Joaquin and its tributaries, flowing northward to the same
destination. All the principal streams of both ends of this great valley have
their source in the Sierra Nevada, the eastern slope of the Coast Range being
but poorly provided with water courses.
Commencing at the upper end of this great interior valley the Sacramento
river receives the Pit, Feather, Yuba, American, Cosumnes, Mokelumne, Calaveras,
Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Merced, San Joaquin, King's, Kaweah, White and Kern
rivers. Besides there are many smaller streams all along the western slope of
the Sierra from Shasta to Tehachapi, whose waters are contributed to the same
system. The beds of each and all of these streams contain deposits of
gold-bearing gravel, and the greater portion of the quartz mines now operated
are located on their banks. Their sources in the mountains present some of the
grandest scenery in the world, while their waters are utilized largely for both
mining and agriculture.
Along the eastern slope of the Coast Range there is not a stream that can
be designated by the name of the river. In the Sacramento portion of the
valley, Clear Creek, Stony creek and other streams are tributaries of the
river, with numerous other smaller streams. On the Western side of the San
Joaquin Valley, however, there is scarcely a stream whose waters find their way,
except in midwinter, to the river. All are lost in the sands soon after
reaching the plains.
The western slope of the Coast Range has a number of streams, some of
which are of considerable proportions, and are navigable for short distances
from the ocean. The Klamath in the northern part of the State is a large
stream, as also the Smith river further north. The Trinity river is an
important stream, and so are the Eel, Elk, Mad and Russian rivers, which drain
the entire coast from the Oregon line to San Francisco bay.
South of San Francisco are the San Lorenzo, Carmel, Salinas, Pajaro, Santa
Maria, Santa Ynez, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, San Gabriel, Santa Ana, Santa
Margarita, San Luis Rey, San Dieguito, and San Diego rivers.
Besides, many smaller streams are either tributary to those mentioned or
flow directly into the ocean. Nearly every mountain canon, from the peninsula
of San Francisco to San Diego, is provided with a stream of greater or less
size. some of which assume the proportions of rivers during the rain season.
Some of the streams mentioned as having their source in the Coast Range
possess very singular characteristics, which have given rise to the saying that
in California many rivers are turned upside down, - that is, the sandy bed is on
the surface and the water flows beneath. This is true in fact of nearly all the
southern Coast Range streams. The Salinas in summer resembles a bed of dry
sand, yet there is a large body of water underneath, and the apparently dry bed
has a most startling habit in the summer of suddenly opening beneath the weight
of a horse or team and giving the rider or driver a most uncomfortable and even
a dangerous experience. The Santa Ana, Santa Maria, San Gabriel and Los Angeles
rivers have the same features. The first named is the most important stream of
the far south, and furnishes an immense amount of water for irrigation. It
rises far up in the San Bernardino range, on the very crest of the ridge that
divides the Mojave desert from the fertile southern valleys. Even before
leaving its mountain canon it is tapped by the irrigators, and thence almost to
its mouth there is a perfect network of canals deriving their supply from it.
More than once is the entire apparent flow diverted into some canal, but a few
miles further down the water again rises to the surface and supplies still other
systems of irrigation. There are probably few other streams in the world whose
waters possess so large an intrinsic value as this. Water rights from this
stream have increased immensely in value, and are sold in some instances for as
much as $1,000 and $1,200 an inch, and even more. Tens of thousands of acres of
land are irrigated from it. The greater portion of the finest orange orchards
in Southern California owe their existence to the Santa Ana river; and, while it
is so insignificant a stream that in more than one place an active man may jump
across it at a bound, nevertheless it has added millions to the wealth of the
communities which it serves, and each year is the cause of millions of dollars
being distributed among the residents along its banks.
Two other rivers of considerable size are deserving of more than passing
notice, because of the fact that, though carrying large bodies of water, none
of it finds its way into a river running toward the ocean. Rising on the
northern slope of the San Bernardino range is the Mojave river, a never-falling
stream of large size where it leaves the mountains. It runs nearly 100 miles
directly through the center of the desert, but finally the absorptive character
of the soil proves too much and the waters sink in the sand, forming what is so
well known to the old teamsters by this route, the "sink of the Mojave." Some
of the water of this river is used at the base of the mountains and even out in
the desert for irrigation, but the bulk of it is lost in the sands.
Following the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada for a distance of
seventy-five miles through Inyo County is Owens river, emptying into Owens lake,
a body of water without an outlet and highly charged with minerals. This river
is used largely for irrigation, the land along its banks being very productive
when watered.
A notable feature of this part of the State is Death Valley. This region
has been treated by various writers throughout the State, and has been the
subject of a vast amount of romancing as well as misrepresentation. It is
situated in the eastern portion of Inyo County, near the Nevada line, and is the
sink of a stream called the Amargosa river. It is nearly 400 feet below sea
level, and is one of the worst portions of the desert. At present a thorough
exploration of it is going on under the auspices of the United States
Government, which will result in setting at rest many of the weird tales that
have been told concerning it.
GEOLOGICAL HISTORY
The geological history of the great interior valley of California has been
a matter of much discussion, and it would scarcely be expected that the writer
could cast any additional light on this region. There is abundant evidence in
support of the well grounded theory that at one time the entire valley from
Shasta to Tehachapi was a vast lake or inland sea, and by a great convulsion of
nature the mountain barrier through which passes the Golden Gate was riven
asunder and the lake drained. Indian tradition, though unreliable, ascribes
this origin to the valley, and there are abundant indications that such is the
case. The fact that marine shells and the remains of sharks, whales, etc.,
found high up on the summits of the Coast Range and in places well up the sides
of the Sierra, is indisputable evidence of the former presence of a great inland
sea, or perhaps the evidence of the former presence of a great inland sea, or
perhaps the evidence more conclusively shows that the Sierra was once the
eastern shore of the Pacific ocean. Along the foot-hills of the eastern side of
the valley may be seen terraces and deposits of sand and gravel in which are yet
traceable the action of mighty waves in long ages past. Further south in that
remarkable region, the Colorado desert, the same phenomena are found. Away up
on the mountain sides are the unmistakable lines showing that at some time this
was an ocean beach, while whale bones, coral, shells, and other indications of
marine life are abundant. The Indian tribes of that region even have a
tradition of a time when the desert waste was covered with water and the people
inhabited only the highest peaks. They also tell of a period when all the
people of the world were drowned except a single couple, who took refuge on the
topmost summit of the loftiest mountain peak, and from whom all the nations of
the earth have since been populated. In no part of the world can the geologist
find a better or more interesting field for investigation than here. Unsolved
problems and mysteries confront him on every hand, requiring a lifetime of study
and investigation.
The islands off the southern coast are another feature of great interest
which have received scant attention. Catalina, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San
Miguel, San Nicolas and Anacapa are all easily accessible from the mainland and
on all the archaeologist, the botanist and the geologist can find abundant data
for investigation. The remains of mastodons, the relics of long perished
thousands of human beings, the peculiar vegetable growths, the strange rock
formations and more than a thousand other points of interest are to be found on
every hand. Other features of far less interest and intrinsic value have been
written of and given a world-wide notoriety, but there is no part of California
that warrants closer study and investigation than this.
CALIFORNIA'S CLIMATE
"The glorious climate of California" has, it is true, been a hackneyed
subject; yet it is one which we have always with us and which from the time of
the first explorers who committed their discoveries as well as ideas to writing
has been one of the most potent charms of the Pacific coast. the climatic
peculiarities of California are the first of the many attractions which are
offered to the attention of the tourist, and there are so many anomalies and
apparent contradictions , so many reversals of all preconceived ideas and former
experience, that this is always a fruitful subject for discussion and
investigation. The climate of California differs widely from that of any other
portion of the United States, and in many features from that of any other part
of the world. These points of variation apply to every climatic feature that
can be suggested, and in every detail the contrast results advantageously for
this highly favored region.
Contrast these climatic conditions with those on the eastern coast, where
the rigors of winter scarcely lose their grip, when the cyclones and
thunder-storms begin their work of destruction, and thousands fall from
sunstroke. The majority of Californians are familiar with climatic conditions
on the first day of January east of the Rocky Mountains. There, north of the
Gulf States the principal industry January first is to battle against the
piercing cold winds and guard against freezing, while in California the air is
balmy, the sky blue, and the earth is closed in her spring-like garments. The
farmer is busy plowing his fields, vegetables are being planted and harvested
everywhere, the orange trees are golden with their luscious fruits, the pale
green foliage of the olive is intermingled with the rich purple of its thickly
clustered fruit; flower gardens are abloom with roses and geraniums, fuchias and
heliotropes; children are rolling on the grassy sward, and existence out doors
is as enjoyable as during an Eastern May. When a tourist from the Eastern
States crosses the Sierra Nevada, his attention is directed to the marvelous
transformation that occurs.
The important fact should be borne in mind, - and one that is perhaps
hardest of all to be understood, - that so far as California is concerned
latitude cuts almost no figure whatever in climatic changes or differences. The
climate of San Diego in the south is practically that of Crescent City on the
north; there is little variation of temperature, winter or summer, between the
two ends of the great interior valley, although one extreme boundary is nearly
500 miles south of the other. Coast, interior, foothill or mountain, the same
law applies, and demonstrations will be given in figures compiled with the
greatest care by trained observers.
Broadly speaking, the year in California is divided into but two seasons.
There are none of the sharp changes that form so disagreeable a feature of the
climate in other parts of the world. On the contrary the two seasons shade into
each other so gradually that the change is almost imperceptible. The dry season
is frequently prolonged until the so-called winter months are half gone, while
the wet season sometimes reaches well into the summer months. The popular idea
of the wet and the dry season, as held by those who have had no experience in
such matters, is that during the one "the rain it raineth every day," while
during the other there is nothing but a cloudless sky from one month's end to
the other. Nothing could be further from the truth, however.
With an average rainfall varying from ten inches in the far south to
thirty-six inches in the extreme north, it will appear evident to the thinking
mind that a long continued down-pour is out of the question. Under ordinary
conditions, a half dozen storms of three or four days' duration each, is all
that California has during a year. There are some seasons, as in all other
localities, when their are storms of longer duration, and a much greater
precipitation, but the figures given are an average for a long series of years.
"The rainy season" (better called the rain season) is not unpleasant by any
means. On the contrary it is considered by many the most enjoyable portion of
the year. The first storm of any importance lays the dust, cleanses the
atmosphere, washes the foliage of the numerous evergreen trees of every variety
and causes the earth to be covered with a blanket of grass and blossoms of a
thousand varying hues. The air is balmy and invigorating, and the most
beautiful day in the late soring of the Atlantic coast, rare as it is, is not
more enchanting or enjoyable than the greater portion of California's "rainy
season."
Let us briefly inquire into the causes which produce such a wonderful
climate in California, and which is little understood, and in fact scarcely
thought of, by the average individual. Perhaps the clearest statement as is
possible of the causes which produce the unique climate enjoyed on the Pacific
coast of North America is that furnished in an interesting paper prepared by a
well known medical writer of Oakland, Dr. J. B. Trembley, from which we quote:
"The western coasts of Europe and North America are examples of similar
climate, modified by the same corresponding causes, - ocean and air currents.
Without entering into an extended inquiry over the various positions of the
world in comparing climatic factors, the knowledge, positive and theoretical, of
the climatic conditions that are imposed upon the western slope of the Pacific
coast from Alaska toward the south, and the causes so far as observed, are all
that will interest the general reader. The same general causes that modify the
climate of Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon and California, extending into
Mexico, have long been known to meteorologists and those who have made physical
geography a study. But the many local modifying influences that these great
currents of water and air meet with as they impinge upon the northwestern coast
of the continent, by high mountain ranges, inland valleys and solar heat, give
as various climates as the topography of the country is different where their
influence is felt.
"The ocean current that modifies the climate of the Pacific coast is a portion
of the great equatorial current, which is deflected northerly and easterly when
it meets the eastern coast of Asia. This current, a portion of the warm
equatorial current, as it flows toward the northwest, washing the eastern shores
of China and Japan, takes the name of the Japan current, or Kuro Sivo. At or
near latitude 50 degrees and longitude 170 degrees, it divides. One portion,
continuing northerly, passes through Behring strait; the other, south of the
Aleutian islands, assumes the name of the Aleutian current. It advances
eastward until it strikes the northwest coast of North America, then turning
acutely to the southeast, flowing along the western shore, until what is left is
drawn into the great equatorial current at or near the Tropic of Cancer, again
to make the current of nearly a quarter of the hemisphere. Various elements of
this great current, when taken into consideration, that go to make it one of the
physical constituents in the formation of climate, seems as yet but partially
understood. Its depth, width, velocity and temperature have not been
investigated as have some of the currents of the Atlantic ocean.
"Professor Davidson of San Francisco seems to have been almost the only
one who has given this subject any attention, with the exception of some few
casual observers, who have here and there made memoranda for their own
curiosity. The professor starts with a maximum temperature of the Japan current
of 88 degrees Fahrenheit; at Alaska, 50.06 degrees; six to eight hundred miles
west from San Francisco, 60.33 degrees; 100 miles west, 55.05 degrees. At the
tidal station at Fort Point the mean temperature for eight years was 55.66
degrees, that of the air being 54.97 degrees. The temperature of the ocean 900
miles west of San Francisco for one year was 60.52 degrees as found by the ocean
steamers going and coming from Yokohama to San Francisco.
"This shows a difference of temperatures between the water of the ocean
current 100 miles to the west and at the tidal station on shore to be 61
degrees less here; at 600 to 800 miles, 4.67 degrees greater; at 900 miles, 4.86
degrees greater or warmer. The great ocean current in flowing from its origin
to the coast of California has parted with 32.34 degrees of heat; or, in other
words, has lost, from the average temperature of the equatorial waters (78
degrees), 22.34 degrees, and leaves an average surface ocean temperature, to the
distance of 900 miles west of California, of 57.89 degrees. The temperature of
the air along the coast, and the water, hardly ever rises more than two or three
degrees, and the above figures show only 2.92 degrees for the average difference
in temperature of the water and air over a large area of the ocean contiguous to
the Pacific coast, and give an explanation of the low temperature at the base of
the atmospherical column that rests on the ocean's water. Also the great
freedom from rain during the summer months, when the westerly winds overcast,
and fogs prevail.
"The great aerial current that moves with the ocean stream, is the counter
trade wind of the northern hemisphere, and seems to determine the character of
the climate of California almost wholly. As it strikes the Pacific coast, it is
always the high current, and flowing from a westerly direction changing but very
little the point of the compass at the same date of time in each year. It
oscillates from the south of west at one portion of the year to the north of
west at another, moving from north to south with the declination of the sun, and
then back again. During the summer season it blows nearly from the west, and in
the winter being acted on by the polar winds, is given a more northwesterly
direction.
"Physical geography so well describes the great systems of atmospherical
currents that it is superfluous to enter into a description of all the winds and
the laws that produce them. Owing to solar heat and the diurnal motion of the
earth three distinct belts or systems of winds are produced, - easterly winds in
the tropical zone, westerly winds in the temperate zone and northerly or
northwesterly in the higher latitudes. These zones of wind move bodily to and
fro with the vertical rays of the sun, toward the north in summer and toward the
south in winter. On the movement of these zones of water and air rest the
causes of the wet and dry seasons over the great area of country bordering on
the western coast of the United States.
"The causes of the principal climatic phenomena of California having thus
been set forth at length, it remains to give some attention to certain
peculiarities to other directions which are noteworthy. One of these is the
periodical prevalence of what is known as 'northers,' and which are one of the
most unpleasant climatic features known on the Pacific coast, though, as will be
shown, possessing many compensating advantages. All parts of California, but
more especially the vast interior valleys, are periodically subjected to winds
from the north, which at times are of great violence and become decidedly
uncomfortable. These wind-storms are caused by the intense heat which prevails
in these valleys, by which the air is rarefied, ascends, and thus creates a
vacuum. The cool air from the north at once rushes in to restore the
equilibrium, while the heat in the soil creeps northward until the whole surface
of the valley becomes heated, thus creating a practical vacuum 450 miles long,
with an average width of forty-five miles. Then from the north the cold air
rushes in in increasing volume, and the norther thus created sweeped down the
valley. Opposite the Golden Gate the cool air is drawn in from the bay and
ocean, and again the norther rushes down the valley. Reaching the lower end it
leaps the mountain barrier and traverses the desert. Here it gathers up vast
quantities of sand and dust of an almost impalpable character, and with the
accumulated heat pours over the mountains again into the lower valleys. Warning
is always given to the people of that section of the approach of a norther, or
sandstorm, by a peculiar brazen tinge of the atmosphere for a day or more
beforehand, caused by the quantities of dust held in suspension. The north wind
produces violent electrical disturbances, the exact cause of which is hardly
known, though the effects are familiar to all. All animal life suffer alike.
There seems to be a general lowering of vitality, headache is prevalent and a
lassitude and indisposition to exertion is common. When the norther is of an
unusually high temperature vegetation of all kinds suffers. Fruit has been
known to be actually roasted and fall from the tree, while grain and grass
wither and dry up. Damage, however, only takes place when the wind is
exceptionally high, and of long continuance.
24
"On the other hand the unpleasant features of these winds are well
balanced by their beneficial effects in more than one direction. Without them
the climate of the interior valleys would be humid, moist and oppressively
tropical. Vegetation would be rapid and the soil would be quickly covered with
an excessive and unhealthy growth. The north wind by its desiccatory power
destroys the germs of disease caused by vegetable decay and prevents malaria and
other sickness. Fevers disappear before its coming, and invalids suffering from
various diseases find themselves better. The fungi that attack vegetable growth
where there is a superabundance of moisture are almost unknown where the
northers occasionally prevail, and in a word the unpleasant momentary effects of
the high wind are more than counterbalanced by the lasting benefits conferred by
it.
"There is still another peculiarity connected with California climate
which is exceedingly difficult to understand, and the causes of which are even
yet not fully demonstrated. The fact that the earliest fruits come from the
central and northern part of the State is one of those apparent anomalies which
are difficult of comprehension to the stranger. It seems like a reversal of the
laws of nature to find vegetation of any kind maturing at an earlier date in the
north than in the south. Yet such is an indisputable fact, remarkable though it
seems. There are two well-defined and widely separated 'early-fruit regions' in
the State, and they are so far apart that it must be evident that different
causes produce the same result. In Solano County, a short distance north of San
Francisco, is the Vaca valley, with its tributaries, or neighbors, Pleasant and
Capay valleys. In these localities every variety of deciduous fruit ripens long
before it does at points 500 miles further south. Cherries, apricots, peaches,
plums, grapes, etc., are in readiness for market here several weeks in advance
of any locality to the south. A similar singular state of facts is found in the
foothills of Placer County and contiguous localities, where fruits ripen
practically at the same time as in the Solano County valleys mentioned.
Sometimes there is a difference of a day or two between these localities, but
for years the earliest fruits have been produced there, maturity being attained
so nearly at the same time that both are practically alike. The explanation of
this early maturing lies unquestionably in the existence of some phenomena that
cause the nights of early spring to be uniformly warmer in these early fruit
districts than elsewhere.
"The days certainly are no warmer, as is shown by the records of
thermometrical observation. But that the nights are warmer and vegetation is
thus assisted is a fact, whatever the natural cause may be. There is a variety
of explanation for this singular state of facts, such as the sheltered character
of the localities where the early fruits mature, etc., but there are many other
spots which apparently are fully as well protected, but without the faculty of
hastening early maturity. Whatever may be the exact cause, however, the
remarkable fact remains that the earliest fruit region is found north of the
central line of the State. Hundreds, yea, thousands of pages could be written
of this wonderful State, and yet the half would not be told; its undeveloped
resources are beyond conception, and are just now beginning to attract
attention. Twenty-five years hence this Golden State will be the Empire State
of the Union, as it is verily an Empire within itself."
For convenience as a ready reference we give some important figures:
FACTS WORTH KNOWING ABOUT CALIFORNIA
California is the second largest State in the Union; area, 157,801 square
miles.
She is the leading State in the value of gold product. Total value of
gold and silver produced since 1848, $1,367,450,000.
It is the most diversified agricultural State in the Union. Produces more
wine and honey than any other State, and is the only state to producing raisins.
It is the only state in which the olive thrives, and is the home of the orange
and the fig. It is the leading producer of almonds, walnuts, etc., and justly
claims the finest climate as well as the largest trees in the world. She has
the largest per capita wealth of all States in the Union, and has the third
commercial city, San Francisco.
Value of mineral products in 1890, $23,850,000.
Population in 1880, 864,690; in 1890, 1,205,391.
Ranked twenty-second in population in 1890. Ranked sixteenth in
percentage of growth from 1880 to 1890. Percentage of increase of population,
39.25; percentage of increase of voters, 55.75.
Assessed value of property in 1880, $666,183,320; in 1890, $1,060,390,296.
Deposits in savings banks, 1890, $98, 442,000; increase over 1889, $11,430,000.
Deposits in commercial banks, 1890, $42,321,000; increase over 1889,
$1,869,000. Total deposits in all banks, 1890, $171,229,531. Value of
manufactured products, 1880, $116,218,000: in 1890, $165,000,000.
Miles of railroad in the state, 4,500; assessed valuation, $40,248,000.
Area arable land, 38,000,000 acres; cultivated, 2,500,000 acres; forests,
20,000,000 acres. Area wine and raisin-grape vineyards, 225,000 acres.
Capital invested in vineyards, $80,000,000.
Wine product for 1890, 18,200,000 gallons; dried wine grapes, 9,000,000
pounds. Raisin output for the year, 2,000,000 boxes, or 40,000,000 pounds.
Prune crop for the year, 15,000,000 pounds. Green fruits shipped East in 1880,
5,180,000 pounds; in 1890, 105,000,000 pounds. Dried fruits shipped East in
1880, 590,000 pounds; in 1890, 66,318,000 pounds. Value of cereal, hay and root
crops in 1890, $70,000,000. Oranges shipped East, 1889 - '90, 3,187 car-loads;
crop, 1890 - '91, 4,000 car-loads.
Number of farm animals in the State, 6,063,440; total value, $57,771,280.
Bean crop, 1890, 1,000,000 centals. Honey product for 1890, 6,000,000 pounds.
Average annual wool product, 35,000,000 pounds. Average annual barley product,
16,000,000 bushels. Hops consumed and shipped, 40,000 bales. Wheat crop, 1890,
27,000,000 centals; exports, 13,266,409 centals, valued at $17,600,00. Flour
exported in 1890, 1,201,304 barrels, valued at $4,899,000.
Public school expenditures in 1890, $5,119,096; increase over 1889,
$1,057,779. Number of children attending school in 1890, 198,960.Securitiesin
school fund, 1890, $3,268.350. Total Value of school property, 1890,
$13,624,143; increase since 1888, $3,060,363.
"WONDERFUL"
The reader who has not traveled over California, spent months in various
portions of the State, and noted the wonderful products, may question our term,
"wonderful," as applied to the golden member of the great American Union. We
will therefore itemize a few among the many just grounds we have for calling
California "wonderful."
The width of the State on the north end is 216 miles; extreme extension
from west to east, 352 miles; average width about 235 miles; extension from
north to south, 655 miles. A direct line from the northwest corner of the State
to Fort Yuma, being the longest line in the State, is 830 miles; a direct line
from San Francisco to Los Angeles is 342 miles; from San Francisco to San Diego,
451 miles. San Diego lies 350 miles south and 285 miles east of San Francisco.
Los Angeles lies 258 miles south and 225 miles east of San Francisco. Cape
Mendocino, the most westerly point in the State, is ninety-six miles west and
185 miles north of San Francisco.
California has an area of 157,801 square miles, or 100,992,640 acres, of
which 80,000,000 acres are suited to some kind of profitable husbandry. It is
three and one-half times as large as the State of new York, which according to
the census of 1890 has a population of 5,981,934. California will make five
States the size of Kentucky, which has a population of 1,855,436. It will make
twenty-four States the size of Massachusetts, which has a population of
2,233,407. It has an area 144 times as great as Rhode Island. It is
four-fifths the size of Austria, and nearly as large as France, each having a
population of more than 36,000,000. It is nearly double the size of Italy,
which has a population of more than 27,000,000; and it is one and one-half times
greater than Great Britain and Ireland, having a population of more than
32,000,000. California's areas of climate, salubriousness and degrees of
temperature, as well as the general proportions thereof, are in striking
contrast to the area and fertility of her soil.
She has the largest valley in the world; and when we make this assertion
we mean to define a valley by boundaries of hills or mountains, and not as
extensive plains bordering on immense streams, such as the vast expanse of level
land along the Mississippi river, or the great body of low lands along the
Amazon river in South America. The valley wonder of California we will reserve
for special treatise further on in this work.
California has the highest elevation of land in the United States, the
grandest mountain scenery in America, and not surpassed, if equalled, by any in
the world. She has a longer range of mountain heights, extending up into the
regions of perpetual snow, than has any country of like area in the united
States. She has some of the most beautiful, grand and picturesque valleys on
earth. She has the wonder of the world in timber growth, the mighty Sequoia or
redwood trees, some of which are thirty-six feet in diameter and tower
heavenward all of 400 feet. California has more of the valuable metals than any
other like area of earth known to man.
California has a greater variety of and a better climate than all other
countries combined. The statement as to climate is difficult to define or
explain. The writer desires to be understood as desiring to convey the idea of
the wonderful variety of climate, difference of temperature, etc., to be found
within a radius of a few miles from a given point, and the peculiar sensation
produced by the approaching shades of evening following the warm, sunny day. And
here it is in place to state that California has more bright, delightful days
than any other State in the Union. She can also boast of a greater share of
sea-coast line than can any other State. She produces nearly all kinds of
fruits and vegetables that other States produce, and a great many which others
cannot. She can point with pride to the best wheat produced in the world. She
also possesses the two largest observatories in the world. There is but one
California in all the world, and the world is beginning to recognize that fact.
The above statements were made by the late Governor Waterman, a few
years since, and thousands can testify that he was right. There is but one
California in the whole world, and so far as the western hemisphere is concerned
there is no other State or country at all like it or comparable with it. That
we may not be accused of speaking in an unduly boastful manner of California, at
the outset we will concede that other States and other countries in the western
world may possess certain points of superiority over California, yet the fact
remains the same, - that California is at least unlike any other country under
the sun.
In point of geographical extent California is a great state. The area and
proportions as to other States and countries having been stated, we will further
say that California is a "hill country," so that not all of her vast area can be
classed as arable until such time as her population shall press upon her
productive powers for their sustenance much harder than they are likely to for
some generations to come; but in time there is little doubt that even her steep
mountain sides will be called upon to contribute their share to the sustenance
of the State's great family, and will respond more generously than people now
deem possible. Were one to ascend Mount Hamilton, and set the great Lick
telescope to a terrestrial rather than a celestial gaze, and with it survey the
State from Shasta to San Diego, he would perceive that of a truth California is
a hilly country. The state is deeply cleft longitudinally by its great interior
valley, the valley of the Sacramento sweeping grandly northward to Shasta's
feet, and that of the San Joaquin southward to Tehachapi. All else seen by the
observer would be mountains, though many broad and fertile valleys lie hidden
between them - mountains arranged in mighty chains in scattered groups, detached
spurs, and lone sentinels; mountains piled peak upon peak, until their snowy
summits pierce heaven's dome; and mountains decapitated and leveled off into
arable plateaus; rock-ribbed mountains ragged and desolate as icebergs, and
mountains whose outlines are curved as gracefully as the rainbows and whose
sides are clad in a vesture reflecting all the rainbow's colors.
In beauty and grandeur of natural scenery California is not excelled by
any country in the world. Her waterfalls are highest; her mountain valleys are
cut deepest; her lakes, though small, are gems of purest ray placed in most
gorgeous settings; her precipices are most abrupt and present largest surfaces
to the view.
Nor are her climatic conditions less varied than her scenery. She has
within her borders all the climates of the five zones, and often within plain
view of each other. Her thermal belts are frostless, her valleys temperate, her
deserts torrid and her mountain summits are wrapped in perpetual snow. She has
large areas as rainless as Egypt, and other sections where the rain is measured
by the foot rather than by the inch. In portions of the State snow is never
seen nearer than the distant mountaintops, while in other parts only the tops of
the trees are visible above the downy covering.
But it is not in her great geographical extent, nor yet in her varied and
most picturesque scenery, that California takes most pride. She is proudest of
her great diversity of climatic conditions and the corresponding diversity of
production which her climate permits. What Italy and Switzerland are to Europe,
and more, California will be to the Western world. Her mission is that of a
ministering angel to all her sister States; she will heal their sick, supply
their tables with all the choicest delicacies of all climes and seasons; she
will become the pleasure grounds of the nation and the sanitarium of the world.
Busy men, their tasks completed, will fly to California to spend in stormless
peace their declining years. Students will seek her salubrious climate to
study, artists to gather inspirations, and poets to sing their sweetest songs.
The world demands of each community that of those commodities which are
most needful, each shall produce what it can produce best, and commerce is
legitimate only when it effects an interchange of such commodities as may be
produced with advantage for such as may not. Other states can produce pork,
beef, mutton , wool, as well, perhaps, as California; but where within the
Union, if not from California, are her sister States to get their supplies of
peaches, prunes, pears, grapes, raisins, almonds, oranges, lemons, limes, figs,
pomegranates and olives? North America furnishes no rival to California in the
production of all these delicacies. She has an easy, natural, legitimate
monopoly of them all. Thus it is that the world shall demand these things of
her, and her supply will be ever equal to the demand. She must first have her
large grant ranches divided and subdivided into small tracts, owned by
enterprising, industrious workers, who will drive out from their midst the
drones who toil not but consume the substance of the industrious. She must have
her many valleys, hillsides and mesas settled upon, planted and cultivated; and
when all this is done and well done, California will have become the Empire
State of the nation. This state of affairs will not be long in coming, for
"there is but one California in all the world, and the world is beginning to
recognize that fact."
What is the secret of the undeniable, almost indescribable, fascination
which is exercised by California upon every one who comes within the reach of
her influence? The permanent resident and the transient visitor alike are
subject to that mysterious enchantment. Why is it that scarcely an individual
who remains here for twelve months can be persuaded to shake off the glamour
which insensibly steals over him, and return to his old home? Why is it that,
no matter how strong may be the affection once felt for the home of childhood,
all that sentiment intensified tenfold is transferred to this far Western land,
and that the feeling of loyalty to their adopted home outweighs all national or
sectional feeling in the hearts of the people of this State and makes them above
all else Californians?
Here is gathered a more cosmopolitan population than can be found in any
other part of the world. Every State in the Union is here represented. Every
province in British America; every one of the Central and South American
countries; every country in Europe and Asia, Africa, Australia and the uttermost
isles of the sea, is represented, - American and Englishman, German and
Frenchman, Greek and Russian, Spaniard and Portuguese, Italian and Austrian,
Hungarian and Pole, Dane and Swede, Armenian and Slavonian, Alaskan and Mexican,
Canadian and Brazilian, Chilean and Sonoranian, Hawaiian and Samoan, Chinese and
Japanese, Malay and Indian, Persian and Arabian, - white, black, red and yellow,
and all the intermingling shades, - all live here side by side, and all are
imbued with the same common sentiment which makes them Californians, no matter
from what source they have originally sprung. That such a conglomerate mass
from all nations of the earth should live contentedly here in the closest
juxtaposition speaks marvelously well, both for the laws and institutions of the
country as well as for the attractions for this particular portion of the
universe. With the single exception of the Chinese, few of these people, after
having passed a year here, can be persuaded to return to their old homes. They
may have come in the first place with the intention of remaining but a short
time, but as the years roll round the sentiment of affection grows stronger and
stronger, until finally nothing but the scythe of the Reaper proves sufficient
to sever the ties that have become so powerful. Occasionally, it is true, the
memories of old home become so strong that one returns thither, filled with the
determination to remain, but a short stay is usually sufficient, and almost
before his absence has been noted he is back again. "California is good enough
for me," is the universal conclusion of every one who has lived here for any
length of time, and who by any means is persuaded to pay a visit to his previous
home, no matter in what part of the world it may be.
While in other portions of the United States there is a constant change
in progress, a continual going and coming, a departure of discouraged people for
other localities, and an arrival of those who hope to be satisfied, nothing of
the sort is seen here, so far at least as regards the departure of the old
settlers. Since the subsidence of the gold-mining excitement, in the days when
men came to the State simply to "make their pile" and get home as quickly as
possible, there has been practically no emigration of the people who have once
settled there. Let the reader, if he be an old Californian, cast about in his
circle of acquaintances and note how few if any have ever gone back East and
remained there. It is no doubt true that such instances do occasionally occur,
but in the majority of cases a single writer's experience has been sufficient to
drive them back again to the Pacific coast. As a rule, people who remain in
California for a year remain for a lifetime. They are never so well satisfied
anywhere else. Having once fallen under the influence of the climate, the
scenery, the manners and customs of California, they feel lost anywhere else,
and are unable to accommodate themselves to other circumstances.
For the person who has never had the good fortune to visit the Pacific
coast, California has too, a charm of a forceful though perhaps indefinable
character. Such was the case with the writer previous to coming to California.
From the time the first Americans crossed the plains or sailed around the Horn
and returned with their marvelous tales of the sunny land, there has been a
glamour cast over the very name of California which has caused hundreds of
thousands to look this way with longing eyes and to regard a trip hither as the
consummation of one of their warmest desires. The stories of the earliest
explorers, the journals of Fremont and his contemporaries, the experiences of
the gold hunters, told in book, magazine and newspaper, in prose and poetry; the
quaint records of the missions; the marvelous discoveries of scenery, the
grandest the world knows; the genial climate, without a parallel elsewhere; the
wonderful development of resources, shown in the fact that California is rapidly
becoming the orchard and the vineyard of the world, - all these and numerous
other reasons have given to the State an attractiveness that is felt the world
over, and is well nigh irresistible to any one who has been so fortunate as to
have been placed within its influence.
While acknowledging the strength of the fascination which California
exerts upon all within her reach, few seem to consider of what that influence is
composed. Each individual has his own idea on the subject, and the feature that
appeals most strongly to the individual imagination becomes in his opinion the
principal claim to distinction. Each writer follows his own particular bent,
and too frequently in so doing is led away by enthusiasm and by those features
which appeal most strongly to him, and so does not do justice to other
particulars which to the impartial judge are fully as deserving of notice.
Another difficulty is that a great portion of the information furnished for
Eastern and foreign readers is the work of visitors who pass at the most but a
few months in the State, hastily skim over the surface, visiting a few of the
principal cities and towns on the main line of railroad, and then set down their
necessarily superficial observations as indisputable facts. If there is any
part of the world more than another which needs persistent study and
investigation in order to acquire perfect knowledge concerning all its salient
features, that part is certainly California.
It is a region of contradictions. Two perfectly impartial travelers may
traverse the State and faithfully report their experience and impressions, yet
one would never for a moment suspect that they were both writing of the same
country, so entirely different in every detail would be their statements. Thus,
one might write of California as a region of snow and ice. He might with
perfect truth tell of railroads inclosed for miles with massive structures which
resemble tunnels dug through the snow. He might with equal propriety and
truthfulness tell of two-story buildings so completely hidden by snow that their
very existence would not be apparent to the stranger. He could tell of snow
slides which have wiped towns out of existence, and by the side of which the
avalanche of the Alps sinks into insignificance. He could with truth complain
of railroad travel suspended for weeks despite all the efforts of thousands of
men, aided by the best and most powerful steam machinery known to modern
ingenuity. He could, in fact, draw such a picture of Arctic California as would
make even an Esquiman shudder. On the other hand, another traveler, writing
upon the self-same day, could with equal truth tell of a journey in which the
utmost discomfort was suffered from heat and thirst. He could tell of traveling
vast stretches where the quivering heat actually sears the eyeballs, where the
water supply becomes lower and lower, until exhausted; where one would give his
right arm for but a single draught of the precious fluid, and where, failing it,
more than one poor wretch has either lain down to die or has had the nerve to
place the muzzle of a pistol to his tortured brain and pull the trigger that
released him from the burning torture. And still another traveler might on the
same day, write truthfully and give the reader a pen-picture of the most sublime
region and clime ever invaded by man. He could tell of hill and plain carpeted
with the most lovely flowers that the eye ever rested upon; billows of gold and
blue, pink and white, stretching in every direction. Also of orange groves,
their dark green foliage intermingled with the golden fruit - golden in a double
sense; the atmosphere heavy with the odor of blossoms, the drone of bees humming
in his ears. He might, indeed, with truth claim to have found Tennysons's "Land
of the Afternoon" realized in every detail.
Contradictory as all this may sound, nevertheless it might all be written
with equal truth at one and the same time. Indeed, these seeming
impossibilities and contradictions might be carried much further, until the
reader were entangled in a mass of apparent paradoxes absolutely appalling. It
is from this fact of so many having written about California from a single
standpoint, and because there is such a vast amount of new information afloat
upon the subject, that we propose to consider the various attractions of the
State and to treat each as fairly, dispassionately and fully as the space in
this volume will permit. This brief description is not from the hands of a
casual traveler, with an acquaintance of a few months at the most, but rather
from one who has for many years studied every feature of this wonderful State;
and who is thoroughly familiar with it from the Mexican to the Oregon line, and
from the ocean sands to the eastern slope of the Sierra; who has no feeling of
prejudice for one section more than another, but whose love for California as a
whole is as warm as such a sentiment can possibly be. Whether the task shall
have been faithfully performed, the reader must judge. One thing may be
accepted as certain, namely, that no statements are made, no matter how
startling or apparently contradictory, that are not susceptible of the most
ample demonstration. Many things will possibly appear to the uninitiated like
reversals of what are supposed to be the immutable laws of nature. Yet the
accuracy of these statements will be conceded by all the old Californians and
those acquainted with the facts. The sole purpose here is to give the truth,
and nothing but the truth, devoid of exaggeration in every detail. No friend of
California need fear the facts or desire to suppress any of them. California is
so far superior to any other part of the world that the worst of her drawbacks
become almost advantages, and indeed in many instances they are truthfully so,
as we will endeavor to show.
The attractions of California are of a varied character. Whether one
touches the history, the climate, the scenery, or the development by artificial
means, he finds so much to admire and wonder at that it requires a long period
of investigation and familiarity before an adequate conception can be formed of
their real immensity. The historical features of the State have been so fully
dealt with by many able writers that little is left to be said. Yet we will
draw from the many, at the same time realizing that there are certain phases of
this feature of attractions that are of the highest interest, because too
frequently neglected. What may be called the prehistoric history of this State
affords rare opportunities for study, - opportunities that are all too much
neglected, and are indeed rapidly passing away. The rock inscriptions of the
coast, the Sierra and the desert should be transcribed, and so far as possible
translated. That they were made with a definite purpose and have a distinctive
meaning, no one who has seen them can doubt. George W. Stewart, a promising
young writer, editor of the Delta, at Visalia, Tulare County, is deeply
interested in preserving the above historic matter, and is now engaged in
gathering such inscriptions as his time will permit. The cliff dwellings and
mounds of the desert and of the grand canon of the Colorado are certainly worthy
of investigation, while in the folk-lore and traditions of the remnants of the
Indian tribes which once densely populated the coast there is a mine for
investigation of unsurpassed interest of which, if much longer delayed, all
traces will be obliterated, for soon the last of the aborigines will have passed
away. The origin of those tribes themselves opens another broad field. Types
can be selected from the Indian tribes and from the Chinese residents of this
coast which, placed side by side, are so similar in every respect as to be
startling. Notably is this so with the Indians of Southern California.
Individuals can be found in those tribes, who, except for peculiarities of dress
and mode of wearing their hair, resemble in every feature the Chinese, while on
the other hand Chinese are frequently seen who compare in every detail of
feature with the Indians. Yet with all this racial resemblance, no more cordial
and reciprocal hatred can be conceived than that which exists between the two
peoples.
But it is not the purpose of this work to go into the historical
attractions of California, numerous and interesting though they be. The
climate. scenery and notable physical characteristics of the State, are all we
can take under consideration here, and only the most salient features are widely
known, and, therefore, we will give more detail to some not so well understood.
The unbeaten paths will be necessarily followed to some extent, and an effort
made to show that there are many attractive features which are as yet unknown,
or familiar to but few at most.
THE ARGONAUTS
During the period of gold excitement, men came hither from every portion
of the known world; but come from wheresoever they might, they had to learn life
over again. The experience of other climes availed them little, for here they
found new conditions of soil, of climate, and of production, totally at variance
with all that they had ever before met with or heard of. Consequently it is not
to be wondered at, that the Argonauts were slow in developing and bringing into
prominence other than the mining resources of the State.
And even now, after forty years have come and gone, it may be frankly
admitted that what has been accomplished in other fields of enterprise scarcely
more than suffices to reveal to the more far-seeing the limitless possibilities
of the future. The Argonautic era has passed. The forty years' sojourn in the
wilderness has practically ended. Californians have found, and are now
rejoicing in, the promised land, and have entered into their inheritance; and
right busy are they now, planting their vines and fig trees, and making for
themselves such homes as are possible in no other land.
But it should not be thought that all the years spent in the wilderness
of California's early history were joyless or profitless. Once setting foot on
the soil of California, the Argonauts encountered no such hardships as did the
Pilgrim fathers, the Jamestown colonists, the pioneers of the interior "West,"
or those later but equally resolute and patriotic heroes who shouldered their
rifles and went into the territory of Kansas to prevent slavery from obtaining a
foothold there. true, the journey across the plains was wearisome, and not
without its dangers, and the voyage around Cape Horn or by way of the Isthmus
was not looked upon as a pleasure trip; but once upon the western slope of the
Sierras, the pioneers' hardships were ended. They found themselves in what
seemed a perpetual summer land. No rigors of climate were to be contended with,
no forests were to be cleared away before planting, no incorrigible prairie sod
was to be pounded into subordination; and no insidious miasmas to strike him
down unawares. Even the primitive savage dwelt with him in comparative harmony,
and forebore to lift his scalp except upon extraordinary occasions, while the
pioneers of other States were forever at war with the red men.
Moreover, the pioneers of other States gave up all they held
dearest-and-went into the wilderness in search of liberty, of homes for those
dependent upon them, or waged war against savage elements, and more savage men,
for the sake of some principle for which, if need be, they were willing to lay
down their lives. The Argonauts were in search of gold, and for gold only.
Their highest ambition was to make their "pile," go back to the "States," and
live like lords, the envy perhaps of less enterprising neighbors.
We are not disposed to speak disparagingly of the "Forty-niners." On the
contrary we will say that it may go down to coming generations that no more
hardy, resolute, or capable set of men than they figure in the history of any
country; there was no obstacle too great for them to surmount. They
revolutionized the mining industry of the world, created a new department of
jurisprudence, made rivers to flow backward, leveled down mountains, and
burrowed so far into the interior of the earth that the hiss and roar of the
infernal regions resounded through their tunnels. Granting that all this was
done for the love of gold, do not the human race the world over seek it just as
madly in divers ways? and what they sought they found, and the pity is that all
who found did not keep what they found, for many who, to use a mining phrase,
"struck it rich," ventured again, lost, and lived and died poor.
But it was characteristic of the Forty-niner never to give up, never
complain, never abandon hope, always looking hopefully to the morrow, confident
that a fortune was in store for him, never complaining of ill luck, nor
abandoning his quest until death took him off the track. The world is, and
especially are the people of California, much better and richer for the
Argonauts having lived. Columbus, while seeking a western passage to the East
Indies, blundered upon a continent, for which the world will never cease to sing
him praises, and yet Columbus failed to find that which he sought. So that the
California Argonauts, though more fortunate than Columbus, inasmuch as they did
find gold, trebling the world's product of that precious commodity, also
"builded better than they knew." They not only made their country rich enough
to destroy human slavery, and to form a yet "more perfect union," but they gave
to the greatest nation on the globe what will yet become the greatest, most
populous, richest and happiest commonwealth in that nation. And should the mere
fact that such was not their aim detract from their fame more than from that of
Columbus or other fortunate blunderers into worldly fame?